Motherhood is a life-changing experience for any woman. Not only your responsibilities change but also your outlook on the future changes. Most people work towards their personal goals and aspirations but a mother would always work towards the better future of her children. Complications are most often caused by already underlying, unidentified health issues. Let’s take a look at all the factors that can lead to high-risk pregnancies, what are the warning signs for them, and to what degree can they be avoided.

Factors Leading To High-Risk Pregnancies –

The factors which cause high-risk pregnancies can be both external and internal, but the reason high-risk pregnancies happen can be attributed to improper diet, lack of awareness about pregnancy-related problems, poor healthcare and medical services.

Here are a few such factors –

1. Maternal Age

The age at which a mother conceives a child is an important factor which may lead to high-risk pregnancy. The ideal age to conceive a baby is between 20 and 35. Here are a few reasons why.

• The problems with conceiving before the age of 20 are as follows:
  • The child may be born underweight
  • high-risk of premature birth
  • high-risk of premature death of the infant
  • Pregnancy Induced Hypertension (PIH)
• The problems with conceiving after the age of 35 are as follows:
  • The fertility rate starts declining after the age of 30
  • The risk of miscarriage increases
  • Even if the baby is conceived, there are issues like chromosomal problems which can affect the baby
  • Chronic problems like high blood pressure and diabetes are also some of the risks with such pregnancies

2. Obesity

Being overweight poses health problems to an average human being but it becomes a matter of deep concern for a mother with a baby on the way because not only is it a health concern for the mother but also for the infant in the following ways.

• Problems obesity poses to a mother:
  • Obesity can lead to gestational diabetes, which is diabetes during the pregnancy period, although considered to be temporary, it may turn acute in women suffering from obesity
  • Preeclampsia is another problem where the patient may suffer from high blood pressure which can lead to liver and kidney failure
  • Obesity also increases the risk of stroke during or after pregnancy
• Problems obesity poses to the fetus:
  • Obesity increases the risk of miscarriage
  • According to some reports, obesity in mothers is linked with birth defects in the infants
  • It can also cause premature birth

3. Anemia

Anemia is a medical condition due to which the body is not able to produce enough healthy red blood cells. This medical condition can lead to reduced oxygen flow to some of the vital organs. Here’s how it poses threat to both the mother and the baby.

• Problems anemia pose to the mother:
  • Anemia is a serious risk which can lead to maternal fatality
  • Anemia can also lead to problems during the process of giving birth
• Problems anemia can cause to the infant:
  • Premature death
  • Fetal abnormalities
  • Low birth weight

4. Drugs And Alcohol

Drugs and alcohol are again harmful to an average human being, now when a mother is consuming drugs or alcohol she is not jeopardizing her life alone but also putting her baby at risk which include:

• Miscarriage
• Stillbirth
• Low birth weight
• In some cases, children with moms who drank during pregnancy can develop a disorder called Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) where the child may exhibit aggressive behavior on growing up

5. IVF Pregnancy

The main problem with IVF pregnancy is, in most cases, the baby is at high-risk of developing chromosomal abnormalities, and congenital heart disease.

Symptoms And Signs You Should Watch Out For –

The best way to know if there is a problem is to be on the lookout for one, the following is a list of symptoms which you should seek immediate medical advice for.

1. Vaginal Bleeding
2. Fluctuating Headaches
3. Decreased Fetal Activity
4. Frequent Contractions
5. Problems With Eyesight
6. Discomfort During Urination

How To Lower Pregnancy Risk

If you’re an expectant mother you should carefully monitor the changes your body goes through, log any discomforts you may suffer, and seek a doctor’s advice as soon as you feel something’s wrong. With that said, here are a few things you can do to make sure you and your baby stay healthy during and after pregnancy.

1. Make sure you are entering pregnancy at an ideal weight and body mass index (BMI) which is around 19 to 25
2. You should make sure that you stay hydrated at all times
3. Expectant mothers should stay away from alcohol or any other recreational drugs
4. And to keep mental stress at bay, try taking up healthy practices such as meditation or painting

Take Away – High-Risk Pregnancies

People say a mother is the one true constant in her child’s life, for the sake of which she has to go through an ordeal of painful phases. This ultimately leads to a safe and healthy life for both of them. To end the article we leave you with the words of the 16th president of the USA, Abraham Lincoln.

“No man is poor who has a Godly mother.”

This article is sourced from Team Credihealth .